Digitisation is the process of converting “hard copy” formats, such as paper, manuscripts or photographs into a digital format that can easily be copied, shared, viewed or stored on computer, server or on the internet. These “soft copies” take up less room to store, they can be simply shared, they can be edited, they can be displayed  or they can be printed. Once in a digital format this information can be used in a more efficient and beneficial manner than “hard copies” ever could.

These days most work flows used at work or in the home are in themselves digital. Documents are created on a computer, converted into different formats, shared by email and uploaded on to websites. But every day companies need to manage documents that have not been digitised ( ie receipts) or which have not been digitised in away that they can be efficiently used (ie supplier invoices or application forms). Also, companies have copious amounts of legacy paperwork, created BEFORE digitisation, that need to be retained (ie accounts or tax returns) but which collectively take up too much physical (and expensive) office space or which are problematic to catalogue or index (or even find!)

Digitisation allows documents not internally generated to be integrated into a company’s work flow in a timely, efficient and cost effective manner. Whilst digitisation can be undertaken in-house, out sourcing provides a more effective solution. Instead of purchasing the hardware and software needed to undertake such an operation and re-skilling staff to use them by out sourcing this process  to JVK the company can draw upon our expertise and experience to manage this process efficiently without distracting themselves from their core business.

 

The ways in which out sourced digitisation services can be utilised are many and varied. Here are some of them:

• Digitising legacy documentation to minimise storage space and to create well organised storage environment where the required documents can be found as and when needed
• Digitising hand written application forms which can quickly and seemlessly be integrated into existing work flows
• Using modern OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software data can be extracted from external documents, such as supplier invoices, and imported directly into SAP or ERP programes
• Digitising books, brochures or catalogues for greater sharing
• Creating Document Management Systems to store and index
• Add metadata to documentation for easier searching
• Digitising Heritage Collections in museums, libraries, archives for conservation and wider display online.

 

 

There are six steps in any digitisation process:

The first step is the most important. We begin by asking the client three, seemingly simple questions: Why do you want to digitise? How do you intend to use these digitised files? How do you envisage you will store them?

The answers to these questions will allow us to structure a digitisation process that will give the end user the outcome that they are looking for. But, they will also allow us clarify the process, correct any misconceptions, manage expectations as well as explaining and demonstrating options not previously considered.

It is vital that both of us have a clear understanding of the desired outcomes and how to achieve them. A workflow is then created and agreed upon.

 

Preparation can include educating the clients staff about the process and illustrating the benefits to the company and the employees. It also might include planning the storage management system to used later, how to access it and protect it. An implementation timeline needs to be agreed upon and when certain documents need to be available to ensure the process remains on schedule. The material to be digitised needs to be collected and sorted; staples or clips removed; the stack of material separated into manageable batches and identified.

The protocols for folder and file naming are established, the  output formats selected are set and the necessary “profiles” created in the control software.

 

The actual scanning of the documents, whilst core to the process of digitisation, is actually the simplest step.

Depending on requirements the documents are either fed into a high speed scanner, scanned from overhead or on a flatbed scanner. Sometimes all that is needed is to photograph them. The high speed scanners print both sides of the page simaltaneously to speed up the workflow. Batches are separated by especially calibrated pages which divide the batches upon scanning into different groupings which later become the outputted file.

As each page is scanned the image immediately appears on the connected computer for post-digitisation work.

 

Whilst the batch scanning is ongoing the operator is able to count pages, resize, rotate, correct OCR results, move pages between groups, flatten and note any distortions or errors to be later corrected.

Once the batch has been completed metadata is added to the files to make directory searching more efficient. The output is then checked for any other obvious errors and corrections made as required. After this the file is saved in the required format ( MS.Word, PDF, PDF/a, TIFF, Jpeg). If the file is a PDF or PDF/a format the file is then made word searchable for later convenience of use.

 

A different operator then undertakes a thorough quality control check. The original documents in the batch are compared with the digital versions to ensure complete and in correct order. Any missing pages are re-scanned and inserted, whilst any pages out of sequence are put in order. Metadata is checked and additional added if required by the workflow plan.

File, folder and batch names are checked and corrections made if required. When everything is correct all folders are locked and moved to a secure area on our server.

 

Once the quality control has been completed, the final folders and files are delivered the client, either by CD/DVD/flashdrive, through the internet or uploaded to a document management portal. The client is provided with a log of what folders/files have been created and the number of pages. JVK recommends that at least one CD/DVD copy is retained and deposited into  records storage the client has with JVK for safety.

Our hard drive is then wiped clean so that none of the files are retained by JVK. It is therefore imperative that the client then takes good care of their files!